Hey, Let Me Ladysplain Something

Today I read an article in which a man outlined his fresh perspective on mansplaining. Only he was wrong. He took the liberty to redefine the term to suit his own argument. Part of me doesn’t want to wordsmith someone else’s work, to just try to see to the heart of what is being said. But as a woman and a feminist, I couldn’t get past it.

Words matter. Especially words that are born to a movement. When those outside the movement use them and especially redefine them, they become diluted and distorted. Should these words stay inside the context of their movement, spoken only by those they represent? This is being discussed quite a bit right now with the word woke. I found this article illuminating on the subject. I’m not saying people cannot use the words of a movement, but they must use them correctly and in appropriate contexts.

This man really wanted to complain that he was patronized by women in his workplace. I know women behave badly and they deserve to be called out on it. I wish he would have just written about that without trying to co-opt a word that has become important in the feminist lexicon.